The Royal Thai Police (RTP) has strengthened its partnership with Meta Platforms, Inc. to intensify efforts against illegal online gambling networks and predatory lending apps. The initiative also targets fraudulent recruitment schemes run by transnational scam groups, as reported by Pattaya Mail.
Deputy Inspector General and Deputy Spokesperson Trairong Pewpan chaired a high-level meeting on 20 February with Police Major General Thanantorn Rattanasitthipak, representatives from the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) and Meta executives including Ben Leechaianan, Head of Public Policy for Facebook Thailand, along with Avinash Raju and Fatima Laraib. The session focused on accelerating the removal of illegal platforms and deceptive advertisements circulating on Meta services.
According to the RTP, more than 52,000 Facebook pages linked to illegal gambling, loan-sharking apps and scam-recruitment networks were blocked between October 2025 and February 2026. Many of these pages were reportedly used by criminal syndicates to recruit Thais into overseas scam centres, a trend that has grown increasingly sophisticated and difficult to detect.
Officials said the partnership includes structured monthly meetings to assess emerging cyber threats, review enforcement progress and refine mechanisms for rapid takedown requests. The RTP and Meta have also been developing improved reporting channels and automated detection tools to identify illegal content more quickly.
Authorities described the collaboration as a key pillar of Thailand’s ongoing cybercrime strategy, which seeks to protect the public from online exploitation while curbing criminal groups that rely heavily on social-media advertising. The RTP reaffirmed that the Government considers cybercrime prevention a national priority and will continue strengthening cross-agency and private-sector cooperation.
Police leaders said further initiatives are planned for 2026 to increase transparency, improve information-sharing and expand joint monitoring of high-risk online activity.
Many of the deceptive ads flagged under the programme were used to lure victims into overseas scam centres
